A train of thoughts and writings on development, technology and the economy focusing on the socio-techno-economic-cultural surge of developing economies to regain and partake in leadership of the world. Written by George Easaw. (This is purely an academic site, no commercial use is allowed. Photography rights lie with the respective organisations). Mention credits as needed.

Can we forget Bjindra's gold, Chandraayan or 123 agreement ?? Here is a compilation of some of the major events in the political, economic and sports arena in India and the world which I felt have motivated or have had lasting impact on the world as of now or on future events to come .

Political

1. Al-QaedaLashkar-e-Taiba - gets more violent, the Mumbai blasts and terrorists killing and holding hostages at major points in Mumbai like CST, Hotel Taj, Hotel Trident, Chabad House, Cama Hospital etc.. has been shocking. 2. The 123 Nuclear agreement with US was a land mark deal.3. Obama becomes the first non-white man to be elected as the President of US

Science and Technology :

1. ISRO's Chandraayan reaches moon ..

Economic -

1. The sub-prime crisis in US rattles economies and share markets all over the world. 2. Madoff dupes investors of $ 50 billions 3. The rise and fall of oil prices - from $157 to $ 45

Sports :

1. China holds one of the most extravagant and exciting Olympics of all time in Beijing.... 2. Phelps breaks Mark Spitzs' record of seve golds by getting 8 golds in an Olympics.3. Husain Bolt of Jamaica becomes the fastest man on earth running 100 m in 9.69 sec. 4. Vish Anand becomes the World Champion in Chess for the third time, getting i the league of Garry Kasporov, Bobby Fisher ...5. Abhinav Bhindra gets the first gold in Rifle shooting for India at the Olympics.

An elected representative of the Palestinians in Gaza strip, the Hamas, even though everybody agrees is a terrorist group, should not be pounded as heavily by the Israelis armed forces as is happening now... With 40 air strikes aimed at Hamas installations, 360 dead (50 civilians) and over a thousand injured, the call for revenge of these killngs is getting sharper day by day.

Maybe for the Israelis, the patience is running out suffering Hamas' missile attacks into Israeli territory.

With Israeli PM saying this is just the beginning, it is not known whether these attacks are for the electoral benefits for Israeli ruling party ..

With South Africa beating Australia by 9 wickets in the second test match in Australia and having clinched the series the Aussies have learnt the hard leson. Arrogance and sledging does not always pay off on and off the field.

There are others who are better thn them and someday, they will have to bite the dust..

After a pathetic bashing from India to receive the same harsh and cruel treatment from South Africa was to much the Aussies could digest..

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

The shocking revelations of the famed Sister Abhaya case unfolding day by day makes one think whether marriage of priests is a panacea for such evils ?? If we were to believe the CBI, these reports are very disturbing ..

Sexual gratification is a natural instinct across homosapiens. The only issue is when it overlaps established customs and beliefs ..

In the Orthodox church and some protestant churches, priests can marry, but they do not become high priests/ bishops etc.. Over the years that has been found to be the perfect solution to such abuses.

Let marriage be an option and let us not force celibacy among spiritual practitioners.

The nuns having to decide on celibacy very early in life is also a troubling question.

In any case, it has to be left to the individual at a mature age to decide whether to take celibacy or not than to face such humiliating instances..

Monday, December 29, 2008

The Con of the century - that is how the Economist, 2 Jan 09, has called Bernard Madoff, the former Chairman of NasDaq, who was running the biggest pyramid scheme (new customers paying off old..) in the history of mankind, the biggest ponzi ( chitti) scheme .

The old depositors were given a min of 10 % returns during times, thick and thin by using the money of the new depositors to pay them off. He was a very respectful person and many of the fund managers never bothered to check his credentials and investigate the allegations and silent way in which he run the biggest fraud in the history of mankind on the people of the United States. He has not only slapped them on their faces, he has given the present Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (like our SEBI) sleepless nights and Mr Cox will be losing his job soon.

Occasionally Madoff used to eject some customers who asked inconvenient questions regarding where and how the funds were being invested and occasionally he also rejected new applicants and their money to give a sense of respectability to this fraud on the poor, rich, dumb, ignorant depositors ..

Respectable Madoff is 50 Harshad Mehtas in one, having duped customers of $ 50 billion, app Rs.2,50,000 crore of rupees. ( just to give the magnitude of fraud by this high society, sophisticated fraudster)

The list of the duped include Steven Spelberg, HSBC Bank and scores of others....

The low levels to which corporate financial governance can slip to !!!!

The oldest and the biggest students' spiritual movement in the country. Mar Gregorios Orthodox Christian Students Movement (MGOCSM) is celebrating its centenary at Parumala Church from 26 to 31 Dec 2008.

Here is a snap of one sesion which I had the good luck to attend. HE Justice Benjamin Koshy, Acting Chief Justice of Kerala High Court accepting felicitations on being elevated to the post of Chief Justice of Bihar HC from 10 Jan.

Metropolitans HG Mar Coorilose (Bombay) , Mar Pachomios (Mavelikara), Mar Theophilos (Malabar) are on the dais from left to right.

The Conference will be blessed by the Patriarch of Ethiopia HH Abuna Paulose on 31 Dec 08..

Very difficult to believe as this is coming from Iran ...Has not the Arab world also contributed to the global economic crisis by manipulating the supply and price of oil all over the world for the past thirty five years ??

Ahmadinejad congratulates Abrahamic faiths on birth of Jesus The fulltext of a Christmas message from Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

"In the Name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful."Upon the anniversary of the birth of Jesus, Son of Mary, the Word ofGod, the Messenger of mercy, I would like to congratulate thefollowers of Abrahamic faiths, especially the followers of JesusChrist, and the people of Britain."The Almighty created the universe for human beings and human beingsfor Himself."He created every human being with the ability to reach the heights ofperfection. He called on man to make every effort to live a good lifein this world and to work to achieve his everlasting life."On this difficult and challenging journey of man from dust to thedivine, He did not leave humanity to its own devices. He chose fromthose He created the most excellent as His Prophets to guide humanity."All Prophets called for the worship of God, for love and brotherhood,for the establishment of justice and for love in human society. Jesus,the Son of Mary, is the standard-bearer of justice, of love for ourfellow human beings, of the fight against tyranny, discrimination andinjustice."All the problems that have bedevilled humanity throughout the agescame about because humanity followed an evil path and disregarded themessage of the Prophets."Now as human society faces a myriad of problems and a succession ofcomplex crises, the root causes can be found in humanity's rejectionof that message, in particular the indifference of some governmentsand powers towards the teachings of the divine Prophets, especiallythose of Jesus Christ."The crises in society, the family, morality, politics, security andthe economy which have made life hard for humanity and continue to putgreat pressure on all nations have come about because the Prophetshave been forgotten, the Almighty has been forgotten and some leadersare estranged from God."If Christ were on earth today, undoubtedly He would stand with thepeople in opposition to bullying, ill-tempered and expansionistpowers."If Christ were on earth today, undoubtedly He would hoist the bannerof justice and love for humanity to oppose warmongers, occupiers,terrorists and bullies the world over."If Christ were on earth today, undoubtedly He would fight against thetyrannical policies of prevailing global economic and politicalsystems, as He did in His lifetime."The solution to today's problems is a return to the call of thedivine Prophets. The solution to these crises is to follow theProphets - they were sent by the Almighty for the good of humanity."Today, the general will of nations is calling for fundamental change.This is now taking place. Demands for change, demands fortransformation, demands for a return to human values are fast becomingthe foremost demands of the nations of the world."The response to these demands must be real and true. The prerequisiteto this change is a change in goals, intentions and directions. Iftyrannical goals are repackaged in an attractive and deceptive packageand imposed on nations again, the people, awakened, will stand upagainst them."Fortunately, today, as crises and despair multiply, a wave of hope isgathering momentum. Hope for a brighter future and hope for theestablishment of justice, hope for real peace, hope for findingvirtuous and pious rulers who love the people and want to serve them –and this is what the Almighty has promised."We believe Jesus Christ will return, together with one of thechildren of the revered Messenger of Islam and will lead the world tolove, brotherhood and justice."The responsibility of all followers of Christ and Abrahamic faiths isto prepare the way for the fulfilment of this divine promise and thearrival of that joyful, shining and wonderful age."I hope that the collective will of nations will unite in the not toodistant future and with the grace of the Almighty Lord, that shiningage will come to rule the earth."Once again, I congratulate one and all on the anniversary of thebirth of Jesus Christ. I pray for the New Year to be a year ofhappiness, prosperity, peace and brotherhood for humanity. I wish youevery success and happiness."

This article was first published on guardian.co. uk at 10.11 GMT onThursday 25 December 2008. It was last updated at 10.11 GMT onThursday 25 December 2008.

Since we were in car, we could move to lot of places, like a noon film on 25 dec, (Lollypop in Shenoys), eloor cemetry, biju's house, kottayam, manarkadu, seematti, meenadom, karukachal babuchayan's house, parumala MGOCSM centenary, chennithala, back to kochi vis Aleppey beach last night, 27 dec. totally 1350 kms.. in 5 days..

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

That's our two year old Tata Indica all spruced up to be driven to Kerala on 23 Dec '08.

We (including our Labrador Retriever dog Silky) are going on 23 rd Dec to Salem, driving a distance of 205 kms, (via Krishnagiri - 90kms). After a night halt we intend to hit the road early next morn at 4 am or so, via Coimbatore (164 kms) hit Palghat, Trisur and then EKM (351 kms from Salem) by around lunch time, just in time for the Xmas eve celebrations in the church.

Monday, December 22, 2008

The United Nations's envoy Richard Barrett has said that Pakistan is doing enough to comply with the expectations of the world. It is like giving a clean chit to Pakistan ?? Pakistan which has been dilly dallying on its actions to rein in terror has this irresponsible statement from a UN envoy as a further boost not to do anything to rein in terrorists operating from its soil. But India has asked the United Nationsfor a written statement from it regarding its stand on the current tension and terror attacks by Pakistani citizens on India, to clear the doubt ...

Must be a big shock for the UN and a slap on its face to be asked by a member state to explain its stand on a critical issue ..

It is quite unfortunate that the white man is suddenly and shockingly showing his true colours at the opportune moment...

If it turns to be true, it will indeed be a sad and dark day for the United Nations and the world which is looking forward to it for developing a balanced and seasoned view on international matters, strifes and tensions.

Chinese measured silence can be understood in this context as it is trying to measure the extent of restraint India can show. If the same event had happened to China it would not have waited to galvanise international opinion and would have finished the cleansing operation by now. Whether it is the right thing to do or not, one does not know..

It is a pity that Gordon Brown, PM of Britain, even though he had tough words for Pakistan, gave them another five million pounds to keep their clandestine activities to terrorise their neighbours going on ..

Pakistan even after having been provided with evidence of the terrorists being from Pak soil, are trying to clean all evidence so that it need not act against its own citizens.. The Pak polity has become such a non-functional one, that only the Pak army and ISI can do anything in Pakistan. The President and PM are just toys in the hands of the army and ISI.

This morning India is getting envoys of 130 countries attend a meeting to tell them how Pakistan has failed to take any action to weed out terrorists and terror camps from Pakistan. It was very surprising to hear the other day a senior Pak functionary saying that it is global Jihad and not any Pak Jihad which is being waged in Pakistan. Is that justification of terrorists operating against India from Pak soil ?

It is jittery times these days as patience and time is running out for India and Indians.. For the first time, the opposition and ruling party have got together on the need to end this terror menace once for all.

Pak is in a fix, if it says that it cannot do anything against the jihadists operating from Pakistan, it is tantamount to saying it is a failed state, it has no control over the activities of its citizens. On the other hand if it takes any action, the army and ISI will retaliate resulting in the President and PM being thrown out or even executed.. The Pak establishment is between the devil and the deep sea !!

But that it no excuse for Pak citizens to attack other countries..

Pak needs to understand this unwritten rule that it cannot allow its citizens to disturb the peace of another country. It is the responsibility of the Pak government to identify the culprits and restrain them from from unlawful activities which can lead to global tensions, resulting in operations of global dimensions ..

The whole world is waiting for the Pak govt to see reason and act, lest the world impose its will on Pakistan ..

In case India decides to go ahead and attack the terror camps in Pak Occupied Kashmir, we can expect cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore once again to be targetted by pakistani trained terrorists besides the usual air, land and sea attacks... We have to be prepared for that ..

If a full blown war is to be avoided, Pak should act and India can afford to show some more restraint if it comes to know that Pak has started acting. But it is no use waiting for ever..

What is Pakistan ?? The choice is slowly getting narrowed down, between a failed state and a terrorist state.. Time will tell ..

It was a pleasant afternoon of 21 Dec 2008 at 3 PM, we all had arrived at the church in Johnson market for the annual xmas carol programme.

Fr Idichandy was the programme co-ordinator working under the able supervision of the Vicar Fr T K Thomas. Fr Kachipally, CMI, Dean of PG studies at Christ University was the Chief Guest delivering the Xmas message. His Xmas message on love, unconditional and conditional was verymuch appreciated by the audience.

The carol was very pleasant to hear. Well trained and balanced, with accompaniment on the organ, it was good to hear them belting out famous carol songs with absorbing improvisations, one after the other.

The skits by MGOCSM, sunday school children and the Sthree samajam had themes revolving around the birth of Jesus. Entha Santa kalyaanam kazhikaathe ? the humorous skit by MGOCSM has lot of biblical incidents of Adam being tested by Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, King Herod being asked by his wife for the head of st John the baptist , possibly these being the reasons why Santa does not want to marry, had lot of learning for the youth and children alike .. Sthree samajam people came up with a skit telling that entry to heaven has more to it than just our earthly doings, it depends to a large extent on divine grace ..

The carols by Begur chapel people needed some more practice, no doubt. The Santa was a hit among the children and youth alike, with his tilting movements and costume, he was well appreciated..

A big round of applause for the organisers and the people who worked for the success of this programme for the past many weeks.

Even though the singing was not in the same class as the Marthoma or CSI choirs ( my niece recently conducted the All bangalore Marthoma church youth choir), the overall programme including the skits and message, with lot of indigenous content and tint, made it a high quality event.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Perhaps if Bush had not gone ahead with his 'awe and surprise' raids against the Iraqis and had taken popular opinion of the US public instead of the cockeyed and skewed intelligence briefings on the reports of WMD in Iraq, Bush would have been a happy, less denigrated and contented person prior to demitting office.

In the middle of all the mourning and cries, this morning I found it interesting to listen to India's top jurist, Ram Jethmalani, fighting for the constitutional rights of the captured terrorist of the Mumbai attacks. Mr Ajmal Kasab. I cannot express the feeling, but def, it is the best thing for the country, as slowly and firmly India will be able to root out the menace of extremism and terrorism from the country by the revelations given by Kasab. To nail the lies of Pakistan .. Kudos to Ram Jethmalani to show the guts ..

When lawyers across the country were refusing to fight for Kasab, to have Ram Jethmalani speak out for Kasab, is democracy at it's best !

Even the detainees at Guantanamo Bay were confined to isolation wards and were not given any legal support. Nobody dared speak out for those fighting against the US state..

Will Ajmal Kasab be declared a prisoner of war and treated accordingly or a terrorist and denied all legal assistance, it is for the govt to decide.

But it is def. a big boost for the democratic credentials of the country..

Eventhough we Indians claim that Miss Parvathy gave the most intelligent answers for the jury questions, is it right to allege the jury was unfair to Parvathy in th competition where she was the first runner up ?

When Jaswant Singh accompanied Masood Azhar to freedom from Indian jail in the Khandahar hijack case, India was committing a big blunder...

Never we thought this person would give so much of headache to India. I heard a Pakistani jounalist asking Indian newsreporters why Masood was handed over then. We could have resisted that very hard then. Did Advani and Vajpaye underestimate the harm he could do to India ?? In our eagerness to release the hijacked Indians, we handed Masood Azhar to Pakistan..

It is no use trying to feel bad for those actions now. Under international pressure will Pakistan hand them over to India ? or will Pak continue t play the hide and sek game with India, testing our patience ??

A war now is too costly in terms of loss of life, destruction and slow growth. India cannot afford that now.. We need to diplomatically handle Pakistan to hand over these fugitives. Pakistan is anyway a failed state and it has nothing to lose by acting tough...

It was interesting to see on CNN y'day, how the common Pak citizen feels he cannot trust India and its people .. We need to understand the Pak psyche and then respond accordingly... Talking tough does not help at this juncture....

Ajmal Kasab is the lone surviving terrorist in the custody of the Mumbai police. After days of interrogation by several agencies such as the Mumbai Crime branch, the Intelligence Bureau, RAW, Mumbai ATS and the FBI, the police have managed to piece together the entire confession of Kasab.

Kasab, who speaks in Urdu, told his interrogators about the how the entire operation was planned and how he and his accomplices entered into Mumbai and carried out the attack.

Mohammad Ajmal Amir Qasab, 21, is a resident of Faridkot, Tehsil, Dipalpur Dist -Ukada, State -Suba Punjab, Pakistan, is a labour by occupation, according to his confession statement.

The confession verbatim:

I have studied up to the 4th standard from the government primary school. After leaving school, I went to Lahore [Images]. My brother Afzal stays at Galli No. 54, R.No. 12, Mohalla Tohit Abad, near Yadgar Minar, Lahore. I did labour jobs at different places till 2005. During that period I used to visit my native place. In the year 2005, I had a quarrel with my father. Therefore, I left my house and went to Ali Hajveri Darbar at Lahore.

At the said place, the boys who had run away from their houses are kept. From there, the boys are sent to different places for employment. One day when I was there, a person by name Shafiq came there and took me with him. He was in the catering business. He was from Zhelam. I started working with him on daily wages. I was given Rs 120 per day. After some days my salary was increased up to Rs 200 per day. I worked with him till 2007.

While I was working with Shafiq, I came in contact with one Muzaffar Lal Khan, aged 22 years, r/o Village -Romiya, Tehsil & Dist -Atak, State -Sarhad, Pakistan. As we were not getting enough money, we decided to carry out robbery / dacoity at some place so that we will get a large amount. As such we left the job.Thereafter we went to Rawalpindi. We hired a flat at Bangash Colony, Rawalpindi, and started residing in it. Afzal had located a house where he thought we would get a large amount.

He had surveyed the said place and drawn a map of the said place. We required some fire-arms for our purpose. Afzal told me that he could get some fire-arms at his native place, but it was very risky, as there was frequent checking at his native place.

While we were in search of fire-arms we saw some LeT stalls at Raja bazaar, Rawalpindi, on the day of Bakri-id. We thought that, even if we procured fire-arms, we could not operate them. Therefore, we decided to join LeT for weapon training.

After making enquiries we reached LeT office. In the LeT office we met a person. We told him that we wanted to join LeT. He made some enquiry with us, noted our names and address and told us to come on next day.On the next day, we went to LeT office and met the same man. One more person was present with him.

He gave us Rs 200 and some receipt. Then he gave us the address of a place called Marqas Taiyyaaba, Muridke, and told us to go to the said place where LeT is having their training camp. As directed, we went to the said place by bus. We showed the receipt given to us at the gate of the camp. We were allowed inside. At the entry gate, our details were filled up on two forms. Then we were taken to the actual camp area. At the said place, initially we were selected for 21 days training called Daura-Sufa. From the next day, we started attending training. The daily programme was as mentioned below.

After completion of the above said training, we were selected for another training called Daura-Ama. The said training was also for 21 days. We were then taken in a vehicle to a place called Mansera, Buttal Village. At the said place, we were given training of all weapons for 21 days. The daily programme was as mentioned below.

After completing the said training, we were told that, we will be given the next advance training, but for that purpose we have to do some Khidmat for two months (Khidmat is a sort of service in the said camp as per the trainees' liking). We agreed to do the Khidmat for two months.

After two months, I was allowed to go to meet my parents. I stayed with my parents for one month. Thereafter, I went to LeT camp situated at Shaiwainala, Muzzafarabad, for further advanced training. At that place, they took my photographs and filled up some forms. Then we were taken to Chelabandi pahadi area for training called Duara-khas. The said training was for 3 months. The training included PT, handling of all weapons and firing practice of the said weapons, training of handling of hand grenade, rocket launchers and mortars. The daily programme was as mentioned below.

At the said place 32 persons were present for training. Out of these 32 trainees, 16 were selected for some confidential operation by one Zaqi-ur-Rehman Chacha. Out of these 16 trainees 3 trainees ran away from the camp. The above said chacha then sent the remaining 13 of us along with a person called Kafa to the above said earlier camp at Muridke. At Muridke, we were taught swimming and getting acquainted with the environment experienced by a fisherman on a sea.

We did some experimental tours by launches on the sea. During the said training, we were given lectures on working of Indian security agencies. We were shown the clippings highlighting the atrocities on Muslims in India.After completing the said training, we were allowed to go to our native places. For seven days, I stayed with my family members. After seven days I went to the LeT camp at Muzzafarabad.

The above said 13 of us were present for training. Thereafter, as per the instructions of Zaki-ur-Rehman, the above said Kafa took us to camp at Muridke. At the said camp again we underwent the training of swimming and getting acquainted with the environment and experience on sea. The training continued for one month.

During the said training, we were given lectures on India and its security agencies, including RAW. We were also given the training on how to evade the chase by security personnel. We were strictly instructed not to make phone calls to Pakistan after reaching India.

After completion of training, Zaki-ur-Rehman aka Chacha selected 10 of us and formed 5 teams each having two persons on 15 Sept 2008. My team included myself and Ismail. Our code name was VTS team. We were then shown the site 'Google Earth' on Internet. On the same site, we were shown the information about Azad Maidan, Mumbai, how and where to get down at Mumbai. We were shown the film on VT railway station and the film showing the commuters moving around at rush hours at VT railway station.

We were instructed to carry out the firing at rush hours in the morning between 7 to 11 hours and between 7 to 11 hours in the evening. Then kidnap some persons, take them to the roof of some nearby building. After reaching at the roof top, we were to contact chacha. After that, chacha would give the telephone or mobile no of electronic media. We were then to contact the media persons on the same phone. And as per the instructions received from chacha, we would make demands for releasing the hostages. This was the general strategy decided by our trainers.

The date fixed for the said operation was 27th Sept 2008. However, the operation was cancelled for some reason. We stayed at Karachi. Again we made practice of travelling by speed boats on the sea. We stayed there upto 23rd Nov 2008. The other teams were as mentioned below.

2nd Team 1) Abu Aksha2) Abu Umar

3rd Team1) Bada Abdul Rehman2) Abu Ali

4th Team1) Chhota Abdul Rehman2) Afadulla

5th Team1) Shoeb2) Abu Umer

On 23rd Nov 2008, the above said teams including our team left from Azizabad, Karachi along with Zaki-ur-Rehman aka Chacha and Kafa. We were taken to the nearby sea shore. At 04.15 hours we reached the sea shore. At the sea shore we boarded a launch. After traveling for 22 to 25 nautical miles we met a bigger launch in the sea. We boarded the said launch and after journey of 1 hour we boarded a bigger ship by name Al-Huseini in the deep sea. While boarding the said ship, each of us was given a sack containing 8 grenades, one AK-47 rifle, 200 cartridges, 2 magazines and one cell phone for communication.

Then we started towards Indian coast. When we reached Indian waters, the crew members of Al-Huseini ship hijacked one Indian launch. The seamen from the said launch were shifted to Al-Huseini ship. We were then boarded the hijacked Indian ship. One Indian seaman was kept along with us.

At the gun point, he took us towards the Indian coast. After journey of about 3 days, we reached near sea shore of Mumbai. While we were at some distance from the shore, Ismail and Afadulla killed the Indian seaman, (Tandel) at the basement of the said Indian launch. Then we boarded floatable dinghi and reached Budwar Park Jetty as per the instructions received earlier.

After getting down at Budwar Park, I went along with Ismail to VT railway Station by taxi. After reaching the hall of VT railway station Ismail and myself, went to the common toilet, took out the weapons from our sacks, loaded them, came out of toilet and started firing indiscriminately towards the passengers.

Suddenly one police officer in uniform came towards us and opened fire. In retaliation, we threw hand grenades towards him and also opened fire towards him. Then we went inside the railway station threatening the commuters and randomly firing at them.

Then we came out of the railway station and started searching for a building with roof top. But we did not find a suitable building. Therefore, we entered a lane. Then we entered a building and went upstarts. On 3rd or 4th floor we searched for hostages but we found that the said building was a hospital and not a residential building. Therefore we started coming down.

At that time policemen started firing at us. As such we threw some grenades towards them. When we were coming out of the hospital premises, we suddenly saw one police vehicle passing in front of us. Therefore, we took shelter behind a bush.

Another vehicle passed in front of us and stopped at some distance. One police officer got down from the said vehicle and started firing at us. One bullet hit my hand and my AK-47 dropped down. I bent to pick it up when second bullet hit me on the same hand. I got injured. Ismail opened fire at the officers who were in said vehicle. They got injured and firing from their side stopped.

We waited for some time and then went towards the said vehicle. Three bodies lying there. Ismail removed the three bodies and drove the said vehicle. I sat next to him. While we were moving in the said vehicle, some police men tried to stop us. Ismail opened fire towards them while we were on the move; our vehicle got punctured near a big ground by the side of road. Ismail got down from the driver seat, stopped a car at the gun point and removed the three lady occupants from the said car. Then Ismail carried me to the car and sat me inside as I was injured. Then he drove the said car.

While we were moving in the said car, we were stopped on the road near sea shore. Ismail fired towards them. Some policemen got injured. Police also opened fire towards us. Due to the police firing Ismail got injured. Then police removed us to some hospital. In the hospital I came to know that Ismail succumbed to the injuries he has sustained.

It was a great experience and learning co-ordinating the first video conferencing based collaborative project on Business Continuity Planning between XIME Bangalore and Uty of Redlands US.

Yesterday and today, 10 and 11 Dec, 2008 all the six teams from XIME and Redlands have presented their final reports to the audience from XIME, Redlands and representatives of the HIPCO company based in Chino, Calif, for whom the project was carried out. Well researched reports which saw the students interacting over VC for 2 sessions each and then over email, skype etc..

It was a good learning experience for our stiudents and they can use the VC set up for more interactions with our oter acad collaborators and Industries around the world.

Thank you Prof James Pick and Prof Ramakrishna from Redlands and for Pres XIME Prof Philip for making this happen.

Indian Muslims have completely denounced the actions of terrorists from across the border in Pakistan to create havoc and mayhem in India. Pakistan finds itself very close to being declared a terrorist state by UN and major countries of the world, ( everyne agrees it is already a failed state). The indigenous groups propagating hatred against India and supporting terror have been getting cladestine support from the Pak establishment will be wiped out one by one from Pak soil ..

This is bad news for the Hindu fundamentalists in the country, who have been fed on enmity against Muslims, as this editorial from times of Indi shows.

Monday, December 08, 2008

It was the same statement from Bush after the 9/11, in a rush of adrenaline, seven years back which got the US gunning for Saddam and Taliban.

India need not be reminded of its sovereign rights by the big bully of the world, but we are more interested in seeing the big bully stop its double standards and get down to serious business of helping the countries suffering from terrorism ..

We know the costs of the violent route of ensuring this sovereign right for other countries and would not like to commit the same blunder again.. I India does not have the time, resources and support to invade another country ..

We need support and positive action from like minded countries to ensure a peaceful and final resolution and rule of law in this regard.

Saturday, December 06, 2008

NEW DELHI: The United States has confirmed to India that Pakistan's military and intelligence chiefs have effectively admitted that the

terrorists involved in last weeks terror attacks in Mumbai were Pakistani nationals and members of terrorist outfit the Lashkar-e-Taiba, according to a Times Now report. (Watch )

Chairman of US joint chiefs of staff admiral Michael Mullen made the revelations to national security advisor MK Narayanan and defence minister AK Antony.

Mullen told Indian government officials that he had told Pakistan that the US had evidence that the terrorists involved in the Mumbai attacks were Pakistani nationals and members of LeT.

Earlier, Mullen had asked Pakistan's top leadership to "investigate aggressively any and all possible ties to groups based in Pakistan", the US embassy said in a statement.

While taking note of the recent success of Pakistani security forces in operations against militants on the Afghan border, Mullen "also encouraged Pakistani leaders to take more and more concerted action against militant extremists elsewhere in the country", the statement said.

India has blamed Pakistan-based elements, including the outlawed Lashker-e-Taiba terror group, for carrying out the attacks and asked Pakistani authorities to act against them.

President Zardari has denied Pakistan's involvement in the attacks and called on India to furnish evidence to substantiate its accusations.

Pakistani media reported that Zardari and other leaders told Mullen that Pakistan is not involved in any way in the Mumbai attacks. Pakistan is ready to cooperate in the probe into the attacks provided India shares evidence with it, they said.

The US is concerned about the impact of tensions on the war on terror as Pakistan has threatened to divert troops from the Afghan border to the frontier with India if the situation worsens.

Pakistan is a key supply route for US troops in Afghanistan. American officials also fear that the diversion of troops from the Afghan border could fuel cross-border raids by the Pakistani Taliban.

Layoffs to your right, to your left, front and back.. everywhere... what is happening in US ? maybe that is a way of life ..

I was surprised to read this morning that GM would be filing for bankruptcy if the $10 billion US govt bail out plan does not work well.

What a sad plight for a giant like GM and a symbol of American consumerist culture, to be in Washington with the begging bowl ? Chrysler and Ford are also at Washington with the begging bowl, I am led to understand.. Americans will for sure be a troubled lot seeing all these things happening, which they have never dreamt of in their wildest dreams .. Even we are worried seeing the Americans running helter skelter for cover !!

This is the right time for Tata Motors to take over GM. Hope they are able to raise the funds from the banks and acquire GM before it is too late.. That will ensure that GM will remain as a brand and not be forgotten for ever like Lehman Brothers, and under benevolent Indian control...

Most of the proud Americans would never want such things to happen, given that now GM is less worth than Tata Motors.. Theoritically it is possible, but will Tata want to hurt American ego that much . Tata will then be a dirty name in US .. ??